Melling, New Zealand

Melling is a suburb of Lower Hutt, to the north of Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the west bank of the Hutt River, on State Highway 2, the Wellington-Hutt main road, and directly across the river from the centre of Lower Hutt. It is also the name of the three-lane bridge connecting the Hutt City central business district with State Highway 2, a route subject to extensive congestion at peak times. From the Melling Bridge it is possible to drive straight ahead into the hill suburbs of Harbour View and Tirohanga.

Melling
Suburb
Melling
Melling
Coordinates: 41°12′32″S 174°53′53″E
CountryNew Zealand
Local authorityLower Hutt City
Electoral wardWestern
Population
 (2006[1])
 • Total615
Train station(s)Melling Railway Station
Normandale Harbour View Boulcott
Maungaraki
Melling
 Lower Hutt CBD
Alicetown

Improved interchanges are planned for the Melling and Kennedy-Good bridges.[2]

History

Melling was named after William Melling, a former Lancashire mentor of Richard Seddon in the foundry where he worked prior to leaving for New Zealand. Seddon and Melling remained in touch, with gifts of New Zealand lamb being sent to Melling at his home in St Helens at Christmas time. The name came about after then-Premier Seddon revisited England and his friend Melling in 1897. Melling had never visited New Zealand, and the local settlers intended to change the name to one of greater significance.[3][4]

The original Melling railway station opened on 26 May 1908,[5] while the Melling bridge opened in 1909.[3]

Melling Line

The Melling Railway Station is the terminus of the Melling Line which provides a suburban commuter service to Wellington. This line was originally part of the Hutt Valley Line through to Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa, but became a separate (electrified) branch line on 1 March 1954, when the section north of Melling to Haywards (now Manor Park) was closed and replaced by a new double-tracked line on the eastern side of the Hutt River (the old Melling-Haywards section could not be double-tracked).

References
  1. Hutt City Council - 2006 Hutt City Demographic Profile Archived 2008-12-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 7 January 2009
  2. "SH2 Melling to Haywards upgrade". New Zealand Transport Authority. 26 April 2015.
  3. "Mellings". Dominion. 7 May 1909. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. "Our London Letter". Dominion. 4 September 1897. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. Hoy, D.G. Rails out of the Capital (NZRLS, 1970) pp. 13,63,80


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